The event will present a white paper submitted to the Annie E. Casey Foundation by the Democracy Collaborative of the University of Maryland that initiates a conversation aimed at developing some common indicators and metrics for use in measuring community engagement. Anchor institutions will be asked to review, endorse, and eventually deploy the Collaborative's proposed indicators and metrics.

The white paper sets forth 12 common indicators – that is, areas of community engagement where anchor institutions agree to measure the effectiveness of their community work at the institutional level. It also proposes a series of metrics – ways to evaluate progress on the selected indicators. The proposed indicators and metrics fall into four broad categories:

• Economic development;
• Public health, environment, and safety;
• Public schools and education; and
• Community leadership and capacity building.

We believe that developing a viable set of indicators will help anchor institutions achieve a more concerted and strategic focus on equitable, inclusive, and place-based development. Please join us on November 18^th, and be a part of this important discussion.

The white paper can be downloaded here.